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Presley Matt

Just before her 10th birthday, Presley Matt made a wish to help kids in need. Presley and her family, mom Meghan; dad Chris; and siblings Elikai, Tallulah, and Arrow, volunteered with local local nonprofit, It Takes a Village BR. Last winter, Meghan raised money for socks, underwear and blankets, which the family purchased together. Presley remembered that experience, and thus the Dolls Project was born.

“I saw the kids, and they had no toys or anything,” Presley says. “The week of my birthday, this idea came to me randomly.” The original goal was to buy 10 dolls for children who are homeless, one doll for each year since her birth.

“I was really excited when I found out we went over $100,” Presley says. “That meant we could get more than dolls.” The campaign on Meghan’s Facebook page raised $600, so the project expanded to include educational toys and action figures.

The nonprofit has been handing out the toys as needed, so “it’s the birthday wish that keeps on giving,” Meghan says. “Kids are still getting toys from that big haul.”

The Dolls Project isn’t Presley’s only philanthropic endeavor. She also grows out and donates her hair to Children with Hair Loss and spends time volunteering at the Companion Animal Alliance of Baton Rouge.

A homeschooled fifth grader who is into dancing, creative pursuits, STEM, and coding, Presley is already formulating a plan for a Christmas toy drive. With her generous spirit, she is certainly one amazing kid.

A fellow mother once told me, “I have come to realize that the hard choices we make as parents tend to be the right choices.” We were discussing whether or not I should send my son to school the day of the last honor roll assembly this past week.

I was a high school senior when The Sopranos debuted 20 years ago. I lived in the middle of nowhere, Oklahoma, and didn’t have basic cable let alone access to HBO to see the cultural juggernaut as it was airing for the first time.

Birthday parties for littles can add up fast. For a few Benjamins, you can take them and a few friends to a bounce place or rent a bounce house for your backyard. We didn’t start big parties like that for my older daughter until she was about five.